Bridgeport theaters and performance centers are being forced to scale back to Phase 2 reopening protocols as COVID-19 cases continue to spike across the city.

Bridgeport was recently listed as a red alert zone with one of the highest cases of COVID-19 in Connecticut.

The Downtown Cabaret Theatre's Executive Director Hugh Hallinan says the economic hardship the theater has been suffering will continue due to the change in alert status.

"Are we ever going to pull out of this? That's what went through my mind,” says Hallinan.

In Phase 2, performance venues have a maximum inside capacity of only 25 people, including actors and crew.

Hallinan, who was getting ready to reopen Nov. 7, says it's just not practical with that kind of limitation.

"If the virus isn't at a point where people are going to be comfortable to gather in a smaller space like this, even with social distancing, there's no way to make this a viable venture anymore," he says.

Hallinan says thanks to a matching grant from the state, the theater could be saved if people donate.

But he says there's no escaping the grim reality that Phase 2, like the earlier one, could be a showstopper.

“We were just like sitting ducks then and we're just like sitting ducks now," he says.

Bridgeport schools are also changing plans amid the spike in cases. Kindergarten through eighth grades will move to all hybrid learning beginning on Nov. 9. They had planned to make the switch after Thanksgiving.